Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $51.63 and last traded at $51.16, with a volume of 28304 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $49.90.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Equitable from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays lifted their price target on Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Equitable from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $47.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Equitable from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equitable currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.18.

Equitable Trading Up 3.0 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $47.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.99. The firm has a market cap of $16.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -47.15 and a beta of 1.39.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.53. Equitable had a positive return on equity of 76.47% and a negative net margin of 2.64%. The company had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.15 EPS. Equitable’s quarterly revenue was down 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 6.05 EPS for the current year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -88.07%.

Insider Activity at Equitable

In other news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.53, for a total value of $316,834.98. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 105,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,002,342.38. The trade was a 5.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 1,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.68, for a total value of $79,356.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 17,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $825,162.36. The trade was a 8.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 100,032 shares of company stock worth $4,699,759. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Equitable

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Equitable by 195.6% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its position in shares of Equitable by 61.5% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 646 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equitable in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $48,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Equitable by 86.3% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 718 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its stake in Equitable by 623.5% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 2,039 shares during the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equitable Company Profile

Equitable Holdings, Inc, together with its consolidated subsidiaries, operates as a diversified financial services company worldwide. The company operates through six segments: Individual Retirement, Group Retirement, Investment Management and Research, Protection Solutions, Wealth Management, and Legacy.